Vacuum Testing A760E/F/H, A761E
From the TASC Force we reprint a series of in-depth test instructions for checking the serviceability of valve bodies. © 2014 Sonnax Industries
December 2014 Issue
In This Issue
6T30 Turbine Shaft Breakage – Or Not
CVT8 Models on the Road Now
Dodge Coast-Down Shudder
Premature Overdrive
It seems that we have run into several different vehicles in the recent past that have had stacked shifts, and shifted into overdrive by 20 mph. While the symptoms were the same, the diagnoses and repairs were very different. Here is what we found to be the problem on each one.
The New Lincoln MKZ Hybrid
This month we will examine the Lincoln MKZ. Two years after I closed my shop to pursue my career full time in hybrid technical training, Alan Mullaly was named CEO of Ford. That was 2006. Under Mullaly’s leadership, Ford was kept out of bankruptcy court and improved its products, but did the much-improved Ford consider the working technician who has to fix their cars or do preventive maintenance?
Looking Back and Looking Forward
Another year comes to a close and we need to review the past 12 months and prepare for the coming year. More than a half a century working on cars has taught me that there is no point at which we can stand still without the technology passing us by. Our industry is in a continuing consolidation as larger companies acquire smaller ones to increase their share price. At a certain point, a large corporation cannot increase sales and cut costs fast enough to show growth and increase shareholder value, so acquisition is the path to a bigger, better bottom line. Repair facilities (once called trans shops) now are adding other services to transmission repair to increase their own cash flow and stay in business. The quality of late-model vehicles has improved dramatically due to the advent of computer control and Cad-Cam design. Cars and trucks now are generating fewer warranty claims, which affects the trans shop/repair facilities as well as the car-dealer service departments. Dealerships no longer have the cushion provided by numerous warranty claims, and have become a major competitor to the aftermarket independent shops. As in nature, only the strong survive. How do we survive and increase our profitability and cash flow in this ferocious environment? That is the question to be discussed.
5R110W Lubrication Concern (Warm weather – no problem, but winter’s coming)
We all know that certain transmission models exhibit problems based upon temperature levels. Most of the time, heat is the overriding factor, but in this installment of Technically Speaking, we’re going to look at models which are more susceptible to cold.
Later-model 5R110W transmissions could fit into this cold-temperature column; however, it would be prudent to inspect any 5R110W, regardless of the model year. When Ford launched the 5R110W in 2003, a unique cooler-line filtration system was developed and used for several years. Instead of a normal inline filter that merely splices into the pressure or return cooler line, the 5R110W used a bypass filtration design.
Achieving Work-Family Balance
I recently flew from Milwaukee to Minneapolis and then on to Fargo, ND. Each time I landed, I felt my iPhone vibrating in my pocket, indicating that I had received a new voicemail, email or text message. When I pulled out my phone in Minneapolis, I had 17 new emails, 2 voicemails and 3 text messages. That flight was only about 90 minutes. I had a 45-minute layover, so I did my best to return calls and emails, but I didn’t get to them all.
14 Things Your Employees Are Dying to Hear from You
What were your last 10 or 15 employee exchanges like? Chances are they included phrases like “I need you to finish that job by the end of the day” or “How much longer do you think it’ll take to do that?” After all, you can’t run a business without addressing these types of issues. And chances are, unless they were delivered in a – shall we say – forceful tone of voice, your employees don’t mind hearing pertinent instructions and questions. So why does their morale seem to be drooping?
The problem might not be what you’re saying, but what you’re not saying. The good news is, with a few well-chosen words you can nurture employee relationships and help to enhance their engagement in your purpose.
Christmas Vacations
Merry Christmas. It’s that time of year again. There are things to do. You need to buy your wife a present, put up the lights on the house, go see some old friends and get ready for family to come over. It’s the best time of the year. Wouldn’t it be great to have a little time off? Maybe shut the shop down and go home for about nine or 10 days? Well, maybe you can.
